When and Where Did Snakes Originate?

When I was a kid growing up, I was fascinated with all kinds of animals, but especially snakes. There were many times that I would catch a small snake and take it home in hopes of being able to keep it as a pet. I was always disappointed because my mom was afraid of snakes and wouldn’t allow them in the house, even if they were in a cage.

I was so blessed that God chose a wonderful woman to be my wife, because she also liked snakes. Over the years, we’ve had several snakes as pets and my lovely bride has enjoyed handling all of them.

When I was in college, I use to volunteer in the venomous animal lab where I helped to milk (extract venom) from hundreds of rattlesnakes, several species of cobras and other venomous snakes. Several of the professors at the university would engage me in conversation which I often managed to turn the topic to evolution versus creation.

On one such occasion, the professor thought he had me pinned when he brought up the topic of some snakes having vestigial legs. He claimed they were left over from their evolutionary ancestors who had legs like lizards. I quickly pointed out to him that evolution calls for a steady increase in development of features and that the loss of legs would have been going in the exact opposite direction evolution required. Of course, that didn’t sit well with the professor.

Since that time, there is still a debate in evolutionary circles as to the origin of snakes. Some believe that snakes evolved from burrowing lizards while others believe they evolved from aquatic lizards. Both scenarios date the evolution of snakes to be about 112 million years ago.

Almost 100 years ago, a fossil was found in eastern Wyoming. The fossil was then packed up and stored until fairly recently. Nicholas Longrich and a team of researchers from Yale University discovered the tucked away fossil and found it to be those of a snake that they dated to be about 65-70 million years old.

The snake, classified as Coniophis precedens, was different than most living snakes today. This snake could not unhinge its jaws when trying to swallow food. That meant that it had to have eaten smaller animals than today’s snakes do. Part of that could have been due to the fact that the head looked more like that of a lizard than it did a snake, but they call it a snake nevertheless.

The researchers also noticed that the fossil snake did not appear to be physically suited to living in water. Their final analysis was that snakes evolved on land over 70 million years ago during the time of the dinosaurs.

But when I do what the Bereans did and turn to God’s Word for my answers, I find that it tells me that snakes were land animals from the very beginning and thus created on Day 6. Genesis 3:1 says:

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made.

Therefore, the first snakes appeared on earth a few hours before man, about 6,016 years ago, not millions of years. They didn’t evolve from lizards as they also were created on the same day as snakes and dinosaurs and man. And if you doubt me, just ask the snakes:

But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you; or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind. Job 12:7-10

Join popular apologist Mike Riddle as he uses a classroom setting to present Bible-defending basics. With humor and colorful on-screen graphics, Mike reveals that the scientic evidence supports the biblical worldview of a young earth. He then gives the six main reasons for apologetics, plus essential steps for the successful use of apologetics. Each DVD is formatted into short segments for easy integration of discussion times in classrooms, Sunday schools, and Bible studies.

This set includes:

Apologetics 101: Evidence Supports a Biblical Young Earth–Answers some common questions, including

Where did Cain get his wife? How could the first 3 days be literal days if the sun was not created until day 4? How could Adam name all the animals in one day? Does carbon-14 prove the earth older than 6,000 years? Is the Bible outdated? And more…

Apologetics 201: Reasons Why Apologetics is Important– Continues where Apologetics 101 left off by answering more questions like

Is teaching creation too divisive? Finding “fuzzy” words in evolutionists arguments Why does God allow death and suffering? How do you fit dinosaurs into the Bible? Does the Bible teach how long God took to create? And more…

Apologetics 301: How to Use Apologetics Successfully– discusses what is meant by having a biblical worldview and biblical discernment. Also answers several common concerns, such as

Should the church teach about science? Is there any evidence for a Creator God? How long were the days of creation? Was the Genesis Flood a local flood or worldwide flood? And much more…

About the teacher: Mike Riddle is an adjunct speaker with Answers in Genesis. For more than 30 years he has developed and instructed courses on effective presentation skills and teaching methods, as well as his specialty in the field of creation-based apologetics.